Every billion-dollar franchise has to start somewhere. Long before a property dominates global box offices and locks in generations of dedicated audiences, it begins with a single story. In 1996, moviegoers walked into theaters completely unaware that they were witnessing the birth of a cinematic juggernaut. This genre-defining masterpiece didn’t just terrify audiences; it rewrote the rules of cinema and ignited a legendary multi-sequel legacy that is still going strong three decades later.

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